Mervyn Alban Alexander (29 June 1925 – 14 August 2010) was the Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton The Diocese of Clifton is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church centred at the Cathedral Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Clifton, England. The diocese covers the City and County of Bristol and the ceremonial counties of Gloucester ...

from 1974 to 2001. He was born on 29 June 1925 in Highbury, London, the eldest son of William and Grace Alexander. In 1926 the family moved from London to

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

, Wiltshire.

Education/priesthood

He began his education at

Bishop Wordsworth's School Bishop Wordsworth's School is a Church of England boys' grammar school in Salisbury, Wiltshire for boys aged 11 to 18. The school has been amongst the top-performing schools in England, and in 2010 was the school with the best results in the Eng ...

in Salisbury. He later attended

Prior Park College Prior Park College is a co-educational public school for both boarding and day pupils in Bath, south-west England. Its main building, Prior Park, stands on a hill overlooking the city and is a Grade I listed building. The adjoining Prior P ...

, Bath, then run by the Irish Christian Brothers. He trained for the priesthood at the

Venerable English College The Venerable English College (), commonly referred to as the English College, is a Catholic seminary in Rome, Italy, for the training of priests for England and Wales. It was founded in 1579 by William Allen on the model of the English Colleg ...

, Rome and was ordained Priest on 18 July 1948 in the Leonine College, Rome. He continued his theological studies at the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

, Rome, and obtained his Doctorate in Divinity in 1951. Returning to England he was appointed curate in the Pro-Cathedral parish where he served from 1951 to 1964. He acted as Chaplain to the Bristol Maternity and

Homeopathic Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths or homeopathic physicians, believe that a substance tha ...

Hospitals. He also became part-time Chaplain to the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

in 1953 and was appointed full-time Chaplain in 1964. During this time he opened th
University Catholic Chaplaincy
which continues to serve students today. In 1967 he was appointed as Parish Priest o
Our Lady of Lourdes

Weston-Super-Mare Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...

, until he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Clifton on 25 April 1972. He succeeded

Joseph Rudderham Joseph Edward Rudderham (17 June 1899 – 24 February 1979) was an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Clifton from 1949 to 1974. Born in Norwich, Norfolk on 17 June 1899, one of seven children of William Rudderh ...

on 20 December 1974 to become the 8th Bishop of Clifton.

Posts

In addition to his work in the diocese he held a number of national posts. He was a member of the Vatican Secretariat for Non-Believers (1973 to 1983), and Chairman of the National Commission for Non-Believers (1973 to 1983), Vice-Chairman of the Liturgy Commission (1977 to 1983), and also Episcopal President of the Catholic Child Welfare Council (1976 to 1983). In 1982 he was Chairman of the committee concerned with spiritual preparation for the visit of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

to England and Wales. He was Chairman of the Committee for Art and Architecture from 1983 until 1999, as well as Episcopal Adviser to Marriage Encounter from 1980. He presided at a Diocesan Synod which took place from 1987 to 1988. From the early 1990s until 1999, Bishop Alexander was the Patron of the

Catholic Association Pilgrimage The Catholic Association of the UK, abbreviated to the CA, has been around in one form or another since 1881 and ran its first pilgrimage to Lourdes in 1901. Its objects are set out in the Memorandum and Articles but its main purpose is to masterm ...

Hospitalité. During 1996, Alexander organised a panel to review the

Neocatechumenal Way The Neocatechumenal Way, also known as the Neocatechumenate, or NCW is a program in the Catholic Church. It is inspired by the catechumenate of the early Catholic Church where converts from paganism were prepared for baptism through a process ...

and later banned the organisation within the Clifton Diocese. In February 2001 Bishop Alexander was recognised by the

for his contribution to the life of the City and the University and was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Laws (LLD). The commendation speech was given by the then Bishop of Bristol, Right Reverend Barry Rogerson. In 1985 he was decorated by Commander's Cross of

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

(polish government-in-exile).

Retirement

He was succeeded as Bishop of Clifton by Bishop Declan Lang on 28 March 2001. On retiring as Bishop of Clifton he served as Parish Priest of St Joseph's,

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...

. Bishop Mervyn died on 14 August 2010 at St Angela's Home, Clifton, at the age of 85.

References

External links

Diocese of Clifton websiteCatholic Church in England and Wales website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Mervyn 1925 births 2010 deaths English College, Rome alumni 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in England People educated at Bishop Wordsworth's School People associated with the University of Bristol Clergy from Salisbury 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in England Commanders with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta British expatriates in Italy Roman Catholic bishops of Clifton People educated at Prior Park College